Tylosema fassoglensis

Description

A trailing or climbing plant. It is evergreen and shrubby. It can be 6 m long. It has a large tuberous root. This can be to a depth of 2.5 m. Young plant parts have rusty coloured hairs. The leaves are simple and almost round but with two lobes or divided at the tip. Leaves are 5-20 cm long by 6-23 cm wide. There are rusty hairs on the veins underneath the leaf. The flower clusters are 2-42 cm long on stalks 2-17 cm long. The flowers have 5 petals. Four of these are yellow and one is reduced to a green stub. The petals are yellow. The outer layer or sepals have wings. Fruit are 7-12 cm long and 4-7 cm wide. The seeds are not quite round and are 1.7-2.8 cm long.

Edible Uses

The young and mature pods are eaten raw or cooked. Seeds can be eaten raw but are usually cooked or roasted, and are also used as a coffee substitute. The tuberous roots are eaten raw, roasted, or crushed into meal, and also provide drinking water.

Traditional Uses

The pods are eaten raw or cooked. Young pods are eaten raw. The seeds can be eaten raw but are usually cooked or roasted. The seeds are also used as a coffee substitute. The tubers are eaten raw. They also provide water. They can be roasted and eaten or then stored for later use. They can also be crushed and pounded to make a meal.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It does well in seasonally wet and dry climates. It needs well-drained soil. In Malawi it grows at 900-1,200 m altitude. In Tanzania it grows up to 1,500 m above sea level and in areas with a rainfall between 1,000-1,600 mm. It needs full sun. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Rwanda, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Production

Plants grow rapidly. Tubers up to 78 kg have been recorded. Seeds are collected at the ends of the rainy season.

Other Information

The pods and seeds are eaten especially by children. In Papua New Guinea it is grown in the Lae Botanical gardens.

Notes

Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ballai, Damkilo, Esinkarua, Ingwaila, Inkwapau, Inkwpan, Ivole, Khubalhulu, Lamoora, Mamoora, M'pauia, Mbalawala, Mkulumu, Mpandakwaya, Mpandopansi, Mphandwapansi, Mutukutupasi, Ombanui, Ozombanui, Umdabula

References (35)

• Addis, G., Asfaw, Z & Woldu, Z., 2013, Ethnobotany of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants of Konso Ethnic Community, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 11:121-141
• Asfaw, Z. and Tadesse, M., 2001, Prospects for Sustainable Use and Development of Wild Food Plants in Ethiopia. Economic Botany, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 47-62
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 55 (As Bauhinia fassoglense)
• Bol. Soc. Brot. ser. 2, 29:38. 1955
• Brink, M., 2006. Tylosema fassoglense (Schweinf.) Torre & Hillc. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Brink, M. & Belay, G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 23 October 2009

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